The document provides an overview of virtual worlds, defining them as computer-generated 3D environments where users can interact through avatars for various purposes including socializing, education, and business. It discusses the uses of virtual worlds in different sectors such as entertainment, marketing, and training, highlighting their advantages like remote access and enhanced collaboration. Additionally, it touches on the future of virtual worlds, emphasizing the need for better performance, common standards, and multi-access capabilities.

1. Daden Limited
Virtual Worlds 101
David Burden
Daden Limited
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

2. Virtual Worlds 101
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 What is a Virtual World
 Uses of Virtual Worlds
 Enterprise Virtual Worlds
 The Future

3. What is a Virtual World?
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
“A computer generated 3D multi-
media environment...”
“inhabited by (mostly human
controlled) avatars...”
“who can meet and chat, interact
and learn, buy and sell, work and
play,”
“who can build, make, change
and influence the world”
“and who set their own goals.”

4. What is a Virtual World?
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
“A 3D development platform...”
“accessible by employees,
partners and customers from
across the world...”
“who can meet, collaborate, plan,
visualise, train and learn,”
“on a single system, reducing
development, training and
support costs”
“in order to create a more efficient
and effective organisation”

5. Real vs Virtual
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Virtual
Bits
Negroponte's
Worlds
Atoms
“UnReal”/Fictional Real
“Realms”

6. The Synthetic Environment Space
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3D Chat
Mass
True
Virtual
Worlds
MARKET
Teen
Game & Worlds
Media
Worlds
Niche Kids Community/
/ Worlds
& Games
Corporate
Virtual Worlds
Private
Simulation & Serious Corporate Intraworlds
Games
Closed/MMO OPENESS Open/VW

7. One Platform – Many Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
Vastpark as 2D user interface Vastpark as avatar-less game
Vastpark as simulation/FPS Vastpark as virtual world

8. Uses of Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

9. Uses of Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 C2C
– Socialising and Meeting
– Entertainment
– Making, Selling and Buying
– Role-Playing
– Fund Raising
 B2C
– Marketing / Brand-building
– Selling/Customer Service
– Market research
– Personal Services (eg Counselling,
Language Training

10. Uses of Virtual Worlds - B2B/B2E
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Education & Training
 Built Environment Visualisation
 Collaboration & Data Visualisation
 Virtual Meetings
 Virtual Conferences
http://www.thinkbalm.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/thinkbalm-immersive-internet-business-value-study-final-5-26-092.pdf

11. Training, Learning & Education
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 What:
– Task based, Exploratory and Social learning
– Synchronous and Asynchronous
– Solo and Group
 Advantages:
– Remote access
– Deeper understanding through immersion Daden paramedic simulation for St George's Hospital
– Better learning though repetition
– Better recall through context cues
– Different group dynamics
– “Not possible/feasible/cost-effect in real-life”
 Who:
– BP, US Military, Most UK and many US
Universities, IBM, Cigna
MyBase/MiLands - US Forces Outreach and Training
Area in SL

12. Built Environment Design
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 What:
– Visualise large areas or specific buildings,
inside and out
– Explore the social dimension of the building
– Try out layouts and technology
– Consult using in-world social-media tools
 Advantages:
Annotated Spaces in Millennium Point
– Long persistency (c.f. Planning for Real)
– Immersion and context – remember
discussions based on speaker location
– Simulate disabilities
– Use model for meetings during the project,
and for live use afterwards
 Who:
– Library of Birmingham, Bavarian State
Library, Barclays Bank Datascape showing Birmingham City centre in 3D

13. Data Visualisation
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 What:
– Represent physical (or virtual) world data
– Use literal, abstract or metaphoric
approaches
– Real-time or historic data
 Advantages:
– Long persistency and low cost “news rooms”
Green Phosphor genetics data visualisation
– Better understanding – walk inside the data
– Better recall – remember discussions based
on participant location and immersive
experience
– Instant virtual meeting space
 Who:
– NOAA, NASA, US Military, MOD, Educators
Plotting aircraft arriving at LAX in real-time

14. Remote Meetings
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 What:
– Small group meetings, all participating
– Location appropriate to meeting
– In-world access to Powerpoint,
brainstorming tools, shared
documents and spreadsheets, data
visualisations
– Voice and text comms (and even
video feeds) Diageo's implementation of RRR's Immersive Workspaces
 Advantages:
– Cost/time/carbon
– Feel part of same meeting
– Better recall – remember discussions
based on participant location and
immersive experience
– Different group dynamic
 Who:
Transatlantic “on-site” project meeting
– Diageo, Intel, BP

15. Remote Conferencing
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 What:
– Large group meetings, key speakers
– Stand-alone or parrallel to RL event
– Use Powerpoint etc
– Voice and text comms (and even
video feeds), in-built back-channel
 Advantages:
Unilever Company Conferencing
– Cost/time/carbon (IBM estimated
$320,000 ROI, 20% of RL costs)
– Often better networking due to ease of
contact/profile exchange
– Greater audience participation
 Who:
– Unilever, IBM, IEEE
24 hour global Virtual Worlds Conference - 2010

16. Enterprise Virtual Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk

17. Second Life
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Linden Lab Inc
 25m+ registered accounts
 Can build in-world
 In-built voice
 In-built web access
Southampton Solent University
 Shared hosting
 Private islands
 Age 16+ (controlled 13+
access)
 256m x 256m ground model
 3D model imports in beta
Birmingham City University in Millennium Point

18. OpenSim
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Open-Source
 12+ public worlds
 Can build in-world
 3rd party voice
 Web access coming
Chatterdale DigiSchool Language School in Virtyou
 Shared or private hosting
 256m x 256m ground
model (but “free”)
 3D model imports in late
beta
 Can “buy” and load whole
sims
Virtual Mars on a stand-alone laptop install of OpenSim

19. Vastpark
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Linden Lab Inc
 25m+ registered accounts
 Can build in-world
 In-built voice
 In-built web access
 Shared hosting
 Private islands
 Age 16+ (controlled 13+
access)
 256m x 256m ground
model
 3D model imports in beta

20. Other Worlds
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Virtual Worlds
 Active Worlds
 SAIC's Olive
 Teleplace Google Earth 3D
 Twinity
 Web.Alive
 Open Wonderland
Twinity
 Protosphere
 Other
 Unity
 Google Earth
Active Worlds

21. The Future
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Better resolution/performance/concurrency/accuracy
 A Common Standard
– Linking worlds
– Private worlds
 Multiple Access
– Mobile
– Web
 A single platform for 3D spatial/social content

22. Spatial/Social Applications
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Game/
Simulation/
Virtual World
Platform A Platform B Platform C Platform D Platform E
Platform F,G etc
Data Remote
Building Collabor-
Training Viz Meetings/
Design ation
/Intel Confs

23. Single Platform
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
Single Virtual World
Data Remote
Building Collabor-
Training Viz Meetings/
Design ation
/Intel Confs

24. The Future
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk
 Better resolution/performance/concurrency/accuracy
 A Common Standard
– Linking worlds
– Private worlds
 Multiple Access
– Mobile
– Web
 A single platform for 3D spatial/social content

25. Questions
© 2010 www.daden.co.uk